“Nearly two-thirds of voters in six battleground states who voted for President Trump in 2016 — but for Democratic congressional candidates in 2018 — say they intend to back the president against each of his top rivals, according to recent polling by The New York Times Upshot/Siena College.”

The beauty of this New York Times story is not just the numbers, which don’t surprise those of us who have been following Trump’s insurgency for four years, but the quotes — the big beautiful quotes — that the Times was forced to print in its hallowed Never Trumper pages. Here are some of the best:

“In the last couple years, the Democrats had kind of been losing the work, and I thought Trump might get us that work. And to be honest, I’ve been in construction 21 years and the last two years were the best years I’ve ever had.” —Michael Townsend, 38, Pennsylvania

“If you’re going to Washington, you need to do something. If the only thing you’re going to do the whole time you’re there is try to get rid of the president, that’s a problem. I mean, Trump is not a great person, but you’ve got to get some work done.” —Danny Destival, 56, Florida

“In 2016, I hated both. I went with Hillary because Trump had no history as a politician. He’s not exactly the person I’d have as my best friend. But he’s a great president. Most politicians just talk about doing things, but Trump does them.” —Juli Anna California, 57, Florida

“In years past, it seemed like Democrats were supposedly supposed to be for the working man and for union, but I can say this: I will not be voting Democratic this election.” —Scott Will, 51, Pennsylvania

“The wheels [of the economy] are turning in the right motion for a lot of people who it wasn’t for the longest time. The Democratic Party fell apart on the heels of Trump winning. The harder they’re going after Trump, the more they’re just alienating people and pushing them away.” —Matthew Headley, 41, Michigan

“[Trump is] an egotistical, overbearing man, [but] you’re all going to be very surprised because all these quiet little Christian women aren’t saying anything right now, but they are going to vote for Trump again.” —Margaret Foster, 84, Arizona

Yessss! I’m not sure how the editors of the New York Times let this slip into their Far Left newspaper, but you know it had to hurt them to the quick. Still, the editors got the last word. After spending 32 paragraphs detailing how Trump is likely to win swing voters (and more importantly swing states) in 2020, they tried to win back their liberal readers with a two paragraph conclusion that tried to debunk their own story. I love the circuitous thinking that allowed some poor sap to justify this as legitimate reporting:

“Of course, a smaller but significant share of those who recently switched from Mr. Trump to a Democrat said they intended to vote for one of the leading Democratic presidential candidates next year. And these voters could be a key to victory.

“But a broader look at past midterm results suggests they offer no predictive power — and can even be false signals — for the presidential races that follow.”

Haha! So just in case you were worried, there are still a few boobs left who are buying the Democratic bunk, and maybe they can swing the election to the Democrat. You never know! The editors at the Times are certainly hoping so!

(BTW, I don’t think the editors really understood their last paragraph. If the 2018 midterms “offer no predictive power” and may actually be “false signals,” doesn’t that suggest Trump wins in 2020? Gotta love it when the truth sneaks into a story in the Fake News Media!)

WHO WE ARE

Frank Miele has spent four decades in the news business and now offers conservative commentary to counter the left-wing bias in the national media. If you enjoy reading these daily essays, I hope you will consider purchasing one of my books. They are available at Amazon in paperback or Kindle editions. My new book — “The Media Matrix: What if everything you know is fake?” — shows that Fake News has been around for years. The “Why We Needed Trump” trilogy tackles the politics of the last two decades: Part 1 is subtitled “Bush’s Global Failure: Half Right.” Part 2 is “Obama’s Fundamental Transformation: Far Left.” Part 3 is “Trump’s American Vision: Just Right.” Also consider subscribing to Heartland Diary on YouTube by clicking herefor News Every Conservative Can Use.